But not everyone goes to auctions to bid on the big, shiny expensive stuff. In fact, just the opposite is probably true. The majority of folks that actually attend auctions may be more interested in the smaller, cheaper stuff. It could be any of the items sold on the hay racks before the auctioneer gets to the main line of machinery: tools, parts, you name it.

Or welders.

The auction July 10th in north-central North Dakota had a Hobart wire feed welder for sale. What's that worth? Good question. Just as it's important to know what the $50,000 semi-truck or the late-model combine and tractors are worth before you bid, the same applies with smaller items like this Hobart welder.

That's why I've made it a point to track auction sale price data on smaller items like welders for nearly 18 years now. My goal is the same. I try to help you save money if you're buying or trading and make you more money if you're selling.

Let's get back to the Hobart welder on the auction. Say you're standing there trying to decide what to bid. How high should you go? When should you quit bidding? What are you basing your decisions on here? Are you just sort of thinking a couple hundred bucks, give or take $100? That's a recipe to overbid by a couple hundred bucks, or worse yet, to leave the sale having missed a great buy.

But how do you know?

Let me help you. That's how. If you had access to our auction price data before the July 10th auction, you would have seen a Hobart welder in fair condition sold for $400 back on March 18, 2005, in east-central North Dakota. You would have known about the Hobart 180 wire welder in good condition that sold February 2, 2007, on a sale in east-central Illinois.

You would have known. You wouldn't have had to guess.

So what about the Hobart welder that sold on the July 10th auction? It sold for $400. Check out the links below to view more of the auction sale price data I've compiled over the years on welders.